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Red Hat releases preview of its OpenStack distribution

Red Hat has released a preview version of its own OpenStack distribution, which requires a version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.3 and enables users to set up their own Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) private cloud. This allows organisations to offer their own cloud computing services environment, with similar capabilities to Amazon's EC2, but as an in-house solution. The distribution is based on the OpenStack Essex release and can be downloaded free-of-charge after filling out a registration form; the software is currently described as a Technology Preview by Red Hat.

According to Red Hat, the software has been developed in cooperation with some of its customers and the company now wants to make the preview version accessible to a wider audience for testing purposes. A commercial version of the product is expected to be released "early in 2013". The final version is expected to be based on the OpenStack Folsom release, though, which should follow the Essex release at the end of September. More information about the Technology Preview and the company's involvement with the OpenStack project is available in an FAQ on the Red Hat web site.

OpenStack development is primarily led by Rackspace developers, but contributions from Red Hat have increased significantly lately. For a long time, Red Hat was not listed as a "Participating Company" on the OpenStack web site; it only gained this status when it joined the OpenStack Foundation as a "Platinum" member. The foundation, which has yet to be officially established, will steward the project going forward. Other companies involved in the project's development include Canonical, Cisco, Citrix, HP, Nebula and SUSE.